Editor, Daily Nexus:

I am writing in response to the staff editorial on fetal rights (Daily Nexus, “Unborn Rights,” May 8). The piece refers to the House’s recent passing of legislation that redefined the human zygote as a living being from the moment of conception, and harm done to it would be a punishable offense. I disagree with the staff’s view on the redefinition.

As a Christian, I could continue with declarations on the sanctity of life and argue that the child is not explicitly the mother’s – the women has been chosen as a vessel – however, I realize the world I live in no longer accepts these points of view as legitimate, so I will not take this approach. I will, therefore, as a science major, use a scientific position. Anyone who has taken a basic biology course knows that any organism that takes in sustenance and reproduces is defined as living. The moment a human sperm and egg join to become a zygote, the cells undergo mitosis (take in sustenance and reproduce). From this simple definition, I have proven that a zygote is a living being. And since it is a human zygote to which I am referring, it can be called a living being from the moment of conception – not one month after, not 20 weeks after, not at the moment of birth! This isn’t the sanctity of life I am asking one to accept; it is simple biological occurrences that can be witnessed through scientific observation over and over again.

I will not be touching on the “woman’s choice” topic here because I am not writing about abortion, but rather about a piece of legislation, which states that causing a human zygote harm is an unlawful act. We live in the United States of America, a nation that has its own view on the sanctity of life, and we have copious laws protecting that sanctity. We believe that ending a human life is wrong and that such an act falls under the jurisdiction of the law. Given the clear and simple definition of life I gave, and our nation’s stance on assault, battery and murder, it should be easy to see that the recent legislation is correct in its pronouncements on the classification of a human zygote. A human fetus is a life, and if another human being takes that life, it should be punishable by law. There should be no question about that.

ADAM WADE BRADLEY